courtier minstrels

RAST MÜZİKOLOJİ DERGİSİ
Uluslararası Müzikoloji Dergisi
www.rastmd.com
COURTIER MINSTRELS
Dr. Hikmet Toker
ABSTRACT
The changes in the court life that had occurred after the Ottoman Dynasty was
relocated in Dolmabahçe Palace during the second half of the 19th century had a certain effect
on musical life in the court as well. The institutions in service of the court residents were
transformed in accordance with the standards of the new court resulting in a fundamentally
different organizational structure than that of the previous periods. In this structure, new
ensembles performing various musical genres were founded and served under Mûsikâ-yı
Hümâyûn. This study focuses on one of these new ensembles that was commissioned to
perform minstrel music (âşık mûsikîsi) namely, the Şâirân-ı Hâssa of which, in this article, we
provide information regarding its structure (faculties) and staff based on relevant archive
documents. This study has also unearthed some documents from the Ottoman Archives of
Turkish Prime Ministry about the members of the said ensemble. In conclusion, this study
aims to inform the reader on the performance style of the Şâirân-ı Hâssa using the limited
amount of reference material.
Keywords: Minstrel Music (Âşık Mûsikîsi), Minstrel (Folk) Poet (Saz Şâiri), Ottoman Court,
Mûsikâ-yı Hümâyûn, Mâbeyn-i Hümâyûn.
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ŞÂİRAN-I HÂSSA1
ÖZET
19. yüzyılın ikinci yarısında, Osmanlı hânedânının Dolmabahçe Sarayı’nda ikâmet
etmeye başlamasının ardından, değişen saray yaşantısı, bu mekândaki mûsikî hayatını da
etkilemiştir. Yeni sarayın şartlarına göre sarayda hizmet eden kurumlar da şekil değiştirmiş ve
diğer dönemlerden çok farklı bir kurumsal yapı meydana gelmiştir. Bu yeni sistemde her biri
farklı mûsikî türleri icrâ eden topluluklar kurulmuş ve Mûsikâ-yı Hümâyûn’a bağlı olarak
hizmet vermişlerdir. Çalışmamız bu topluluklar arasında yer alan ve sarayda âşık mûsikîsi icrâ
etmekle görevli olan Şâiran-ı Hâssa hakkında bilgiler vermektedir. Makalemizde bu
topluluğun kurumsal yapısı ve mevcûdu hakkında arşiv belgelerine dayalı olarak sunulan
bilgiler yer almaktadır. Ayrıca bu çalışmamızla Şâiran-ı Hâssa mensupları ile
alâkalı
¨Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi’nde¨ bulunan bazı belgeler gün yüzüne çıkarılmıştır. Son olarak
Şâiran-ı Hâssa’nın icrâ şekli hakkında elde bulunan mahdûd sayıdaki kaynaklardan
yararlanılarak bilgiler verilmeye çalışılmıştır.
Anahtar Kelimeler: Âşık Mûsikîsi, Saz Şâirleri, Osmanlı Sarayı, Türk Halk Müziği, Mûsikâyı Hümâyûn, Mâbeyn-i Hümâyûn.
1
The Turkish version of this article had been published at “Toker, H. (2014). Şâ raân-ı Hâssa, Journal of the
Faculty of Divinity of C.U, 14 (1), 169-185.” A special thanks to Baki Enis Balakbabalar for translating and
proofreading.
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INTRODUCTION
It is possible to trace some information in a few sources regarding Minstrels, one of
the most important figures of Turkish literature and music history, and their existence in the
Ottoman court. This study focuses on Şâiran-ı Hâssa (Courtier Minstrels), one of the bodies in
the new organizational structure in court that was formed after the Ottoman Dynasty was
relocated to Dolmabahçe Palace from Topkapı Palace during the second half of the 19th
century.
Students were to be placed in designated chambers linked to Enderûn2 to be educated by
masters of certain art branches and those who could live up to the certain level of achievement
would start performing their arts in the court, that was then Topkapı Palace. This operation
that was carried out in various chambers in the early years of Enderûn had been predominantly
conducted in the Seferli Chamber after it was instituted by Murad IV (Uzunçarşılı, 1977, p.
80).
After Dolmabahçe Palace had become functional and this chamber-based structure
had to be abandoned, a new organizational structure which all musical ensembles in court were
to be gathered under the same roof of Mûsikâ-yı Hümâyun seemed appealing. However, while
these ensembles had appeared to be operating under Mûsikâ-yı Hümâyun, they were actually
operating under Mâbeyn-i Hümâyun 3 the organizational structure of these institutions is
shown below:
2
Enderun: Private schools located in the court responsible for educating the talented youth in the fields of
bureaucracy, arts and warfare
3
Mâbeyn-i Hümâyûn: Institution responsible for internal and personnel affairs of the court.
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Table 1: The Organizational Structure of Musikâ-yı Hümâyûn
Musikâ-yı Hümâyûn
(An umbrella establishment
supervising Turkish Music,
Western Music, Religous Music,
Minstrel Music and Army
Bands)
Musikâ-yı Hümâyûn
Orkestrası
(Responsible for
performing military
music)
Sâzendegân-ı Hâssa
(Responsible for
performing Classical
Turkish Music)
Müezzinân-ı
Hassa
(Responsible
for performing
Religious
Music)
Şâirân-ı Hâssa
(Responsible for
performing Minsterl's
Music)
Our study focuses on one of those institutions named Şâirân-ı Hâssa (Courtier
Minstrels) and is based on detailed archive and literature research which we have conducted
in Ottoman Archives of Prime Ministry. This study aims to discover concrete data about
Şâirân-ı Hâssa and its organizational structure and thus the key positions occupied by the
Minstrels in the Ottoman court (Toker, 2012, p. 38-141).
A Glance at the Minstrels in Turkish Courts from Pre-Islamic Period to 19th Century
The word Bahşı which is the corresponding word for saz-şâiri (Minstrel) used amongst
Eastern Turks was derived from the words Baksı and Baksa. The word “Âşık” was used by
Anatolian Turks; instead the word “Bahşı” (Ögel, 2006, p. 6). It has been known that “Baksa”s
had told sagas with a kemenche embellished with cymbals on its contours called kobuz in
order to cure ailments (Ögel, 2006, p. 7) Then, as stated above, the Minstrels called “bahşı”
have always been a part of all Turkic societies.
It can be noted from the historical sources that minstrels had a place in Seljukian court
which is the prototype of the court life of Ottoman Empire. It is pointed out in Rahâtu’s Sudûr,
a book dedicated to Seljukian Emperor Kılıçarslan, that sultans must spend quality time with
the poets and nedims (courtier) so they would leave a good legacy after death which tells us
that poets had held an important positions in Seljukian courts (Karaismailoğlu, 1996, p. 134).
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It has been pointed out in Halil İnalcık’s book Has-bağçede ‘Ayş u Tarab that
Minstrels had given performances in “toy”s which were festivities organized by the Seljukian
emperors. İnalcık has stated that in İbn-i Bibi’s book Muhtasar, it is mentioned the Minstrels
with “kopuz”s had told myths (epics) after military victories (İnalcık, 2010, p. 62).
It is a known fact that there were several poets serving under the Seljukian Emperor
Sencer and also Toğan Şah had noted honoured poets and there were some poets in their
courtiers (nedims). Apart from these, it is possible to find references in sources that poems had
been recited before the emperors and poets had been under auspices of Seljukian sultans
(Karaismailoğlu, 1996, p. 137). There is no concrete evidence that there were minstrels among
these favoured poets but considering the Minstrels had frequently given performances in front
of Ottoman sultans in early years of the empire which was founded right after Seljukian Empire
had collapsed, it could be safe to say that there actually were Minstrels amongst the group of
poets mentioned above.
With the foundation of the Ottoman Empire, artists had undertaken an active role in
court life. İsmail Hakkı Uzunçarşılı states that there had been interruptions in musical life in
court caused by wars and governmental disturbances during the early years of the empire and
could not increase the importance of musical life in court until the reign of Murad II. Same
goes for the Minstrels (Uzunçarşılı, 1977, p. 80) Bülent Aksoy notes Bertrandon Brocquiere,
in his memoire, writes that Murad II. had listened to two Minstrels telling heroic tales during
one of the feasts he participated (Aksoy, 2003, p. 46).
We see that Bülent Aksoy informs the reader about the important positions held by
Minstrels in Ottoman cultural life, via his book where he presents observations of European
travellers. For example, Bartholemous Georgievitz who had authored a book about Ottoman
life in 16th century notes that “Turks are incompetent when it comes to instrumental music yet
they are fairly talented in poems and their poets are called âşık” (Aksoy, 2003, p. 46).
There is a lot of information in numerous sources in which we can read about the
positions in Ottoman life occupied by the Minstrels. It has been pointed out in Fuad Köprülü’s
book titled “Aşık Tarzının Menşei ve Tekâmülü” that Ottoman people had liked poems that
were composed in minstrel’s form more than those composed in the classical form.
(Köprülüzâde Mehmet Fuad, 1331, p. 15) Additionally Köprülü says that poems written in
minstrel’s form not only were liked by the public but also the Ottoman elite. (Köprülüzâde
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Mehmet Fuad, 1331, p. 16) Köprülü gives a particular example for this situation in which he
mentions a poem titled “Bana Hayf Değil mi Sultan Mehmed?” written by Afife Sultan who
was one of the wives of Mehmet IV. after her husband was removed from the Ottoman throne.
(Köprülüzâde Mehmet Fuad, 1331, p. 24)
Halil İnalcık states that poets who composed their poems with syllabic meter (hece
vezni) are, most of the time, not included in the biography collection of poets (Şuarâ
Tezkîreleri) which are the most important source of our literature and music history. However
we suspect that some of the poets were able to enter into these biography collections because
they had composed their poems in terms of folk poetry as well as divan (classical) poetry and
consequently that is why we would like to lean towards the Janissary poets mentioned in
certain biography collection of poets.(İnalcık, 2003, p. 52) In the biography collection named
Beyânî it is mentioned that a Minstrel with a pseudonym Âşıkî was actually a janissary (Beyâni
Mustafa bin Cârullah,1997, p.147). In one of the most important biography collection named
Latifî, we find that there is a janissary poet with a pseudonym Hüdai. ( Latifî, 2000, p. 245)
Fuat Köprülü, the renowned researcher in the field of literature history, notes that a Minstrel
named Öksüz Dede who lived during the 10th century (hijri – muslim calendar) was actually
a janissary. (Köprülüzâde Mehmet Fuad, 1927 p. 385) There are several sources where it is
pointed out that, in 11th century (hijri – muslim calendar) in which folk poetry was in great
demand, some pieces of literature composed by “âşık”s trained in the janissary schools of
marine and cavalry (levend ve sipahi ocakları) were able to spread throughout the country.
(Ülkütaşır, Aşık , 1941 , p. 591)
Süleyman Şenel pointed out that minstrels were classified with various names one of
which was Janissary minstrel (Yeniçeri Âşıkları) (Şenel, 2007, p. 9). Evliya Çelebi noted that
Çöğür was an instrument mostly played among janissaries. (Evliya Çelebi, 1999, vol. I, p. 640)
Furthermore Evliya Çelebi pointed out that 12 janissary minstrels who also played çöğür had
attended to the fest which was in honour of the İpşir Paşa’s promotion to grand viziership.4
(Evliya Çelebi, 1999, vol. 3, p. 281) These findings indicate that there is significant number
of Minstrels among the janissaries.
4
İpşir Paşa was one of the grand viziers of Murat IV.
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Erman Artun points out that aşık literature that had come out after Turks’ conversion
to Islam is a different form of literature from the ozan-baksı tradition. Artun states that
Janissary Minstrels also known as Army poets who are of Bektâşî order along with the poets
of other orders had significant contributions in shaping this particular literary form. (Artun,
2001, p. 34)
Our goal with the data that has so far been presented is to show that Minstrels had held
an important position in Ottoman Empire. We also mentioned that Minstrels had played an
active role in the early years of the empire. But now we have to ask this question: “Based on
this data, can we say these Minstrels had permanent positions in Ottoman court life?”
In order to find an answer to this question regarding this historical process, some
documents would be of use to the point which we can assert that although Minstrels might not
have had a solid organizational structure in the strictest sense, we can say that they certainly
had given performances from time to time. Now let us elaborate on these documents: On a
document regarding the officials who received salaries from Mâbeyn-i Hümâyun; three names,
Mâi, Şefî and Hayâlî, were given under the item titled “astrologers and poets in the court”
dated the year Hijri 973 (1565-1566) (BOA, HH.d, 10141)
On another document from sultan’s treasury regarding the expenditures, it is stated
that two çöğür playing poets were granted payments. (BOA, HH.d, 84) 5
Fuad Köprülü noted that “çöğürcü (çöğür player)” is used as the correspondent word
for “âşık”. Thus it is conceivable that çöğür players in the court were most likely minstrels. In
file classification titled İE.SM, the voucher (makbuz) showing the payment (vazife akçesi)
made to Çöğürcü (Çöğür player) Ahmet Çelebi could be presented as evidence of minstrels’
existence in court. (BOA, İE. SM, 13/1332)
We come across more data regarding minstrels in other sources as well. Fuad Köprülü,
in his study about the minstrels of 18th century, noted that famous nakkaş (muralist and
miniaturist) Levnî was also a minstrel. Further in the same study, it is stated that Levnî did a
miniature of well-known minstrel named Âşık Ömer which tells us that Âşık Ömer was an
artist celebrated by the Ottoman elite. (Köprülü M., 1962, p. 395) Evliya Çelebi pointed out
5
The date of this document is 1163 ( 1749-1750)
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that the minstrel with pseudonym İtaki had been brought from Uşşak by Celali Hasan Paşa,
was forgiven by Mehmet IV.during the execution of Hasan Paşa and his attendants because of
rebelion that was led by Hasan Paşa. Evliya Çelebi additionally noted that Itaki was an
exceptional çöğür player. (Evliya Çelebi, 1999, vol.V, p.143) Biography collections of poets
(Şuarâ Tezkîreleri) and various sources mention that there were many poets in the court who
served sultans for different tasks. We also see that şehzâde (princes) and high-level officials
had poets under their command some of whom were probably minstrels.
Şâiran-ı Hâssa (Courtier Minstrels)
Minstrelship in 19th Century:
Several important researchers have mentioned that the performance styles of minstrels
and the venues where they perform had undergone a change in the 19th century. Süleyman
Şenel who is an expert on Âşık Music (Âşık Musikîsi) notes that minstrels that had gotten
close to the court and the ruling elite had adopted a poetic style similar to the divan (classical)
poetry. (Şenel, 1991, vol. III, p. 554) This tendency that was beginning to be influential 17th
century became rather dominant in 19th century. On this particular subject, Fuad Köprülü
states that minstrels had developed a keenness for composing poems in aruz meter (aruz vezni)
and using non-turkish (Arabic or Farsi) words in their poems in order to compete with classical
divan poets (kalem şairleri). Köprülü also states that the more the minstrels were favoured by
the elite circles and the court, more estranged they had become in the eyes of the public.
(Köprülü M. F., 1964, p. 525-526)
It is a known fact that minstrels had occupied important positions in big cities. Several
sources have noted that, especially in Istanbul, the “âşık”s had a strong organization served
under a guild run by an official titled “âşıklar kahyası (chamberlain of âşıks)”. (Köprülü M.
F., 1964, p. 526)And “âşık”s were known to be the regulars of “semâî coffeehouses” which
were opening up in Istanbul during this century. M. Halid Bayrı points out that it would be
appropriate to call the poems that were composed in these location as “meydan (arena-stage)
poems” and poets who composed them are called “meydan (arena-stage) poets”. He goes on
to give the names of these poets who had performed in these semai coffeehouses during the
reign of Sultan Abdülaziz and Abdülhamid II. Further in this study, we will be talking about
one of these poets named Gedâyî in detail. (Bayrı, 1972, p. 85)
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Fuad Köprülü states that the most famous of these semai coffehouses was the one
located in Tavuk Pazarı which also functioned as the headquarter where “âşıklar kahyasıchamberlain of âşıks” run the said guild. (Köprülü M. F., 1964, p. 527)
We have limited sources about the performance styles made in these coffeehouses.
One of the most detailed source is “Semai Coffeehouses” written by Cemal Kaygılı (18901945). We think it would be suitable to include the quotation of the author since it is obvious
that the performances given by Courtier Minstrels would be similar to the ones given in semai
coffeehouses:
“They dance either during intermission from musical acts (fasıl) like mâni, koşma,
kalenderî, divan, yıldız or after all the performances had been completed. As we all know,
these dances are zeybek dances such as Çiftetelli, Köçek. Ağırlama, Kasap, Düğün Havası,
Helvazı which could be considered as allaturca polka dances. One of these dances called Bıçak
was best played by Halit Hoca of Unkapanı.
I have mentioned above musical acts such as Divan and Yıldız while I was talking
about mâni, semâî, etc. These genres are written either like koşma in 6-5 syllabic meter (hece
vezni) or aruz meter. Not everyone can sing Yıldız, because its makam was utterly different
from others. (Kaygılı, 1937, p.10)
Kaygılı, later in his book, informs the reader about the way the acts were performed
in semâî coffeehouses and according to the book the performances were made in the order
stated below:
Performances would start with mâni.
Before mâni, koşma, semai acts were performed, an orchestra called çalgılı kahve muzikası
(coffeehouse band) composed of a clarinet, çığırtma, düdük, a pair of nâra, a drum (darbuka),
a pair of tongs with cymbals (zilli maşa) would start with a marching music, then a couple of
polka or polka-like pieces, followed by a few european-esque pieces and folkloric pieces called
oyun havası and folk songs called türkü.
Then they would go on to perform mâni faslı (act) which took about 30 minutes to an hour.
Then koşma, semâî, divan, yıldız and destan kalenderî would be performed respectively.
(Kaygılı, 1937, p. 21) Apart from the information stated above, Mehmet Halid Bayrı, about
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the performances made in these semâî coffeehouses, informs the reader about the sing off acts
(atışma) in Ramadan which we thought would be appropriate for our research:
“…after all the preparations are completed, the owner of the coffeehouse would have a
recourse to one of the arena poets to compose a riddle (muamma) to the best of his ability. This riddle
would be written legibly on the outsides of a box and hang on the door space reserved for performers.
The poet who composes the riddle was called “çığırtkan (promoter)”.
When two arena poets got together, promoter would open the “arena” and his main
duty was to prevent any outbreaks of arguments or fights between the poets and their fans in
case of a defeat.
These entertainment activities would go on until the end of winter or Ramadan. On
the last night, if other arena poets had not succeeded, promoter would solve the riddle that he
composed and get paid by the owner of the coffeehouse and receive a gift package that is
usually a set of undergarments and close the arena by praising the coffeehouse and its
customers.
Süleyman Şenel, in his work titled “Kastamonu Âşık Fasılları” (minstrel acts in
Kastamonu) published in İkdam journal in 1914, summarizes the series of articles that were
written accordingly to the data acquired by M. Fuad Köprülü from Âşık Fevzi Efendi of
Kastamonu on the style of âşık musical acts (fasıl) performed in the district called Tavukpazarı
İstanbul.
STYLES, TYPES AND REPERTOIRE PIECES OF THREE-PART ÂŞIK MUSICAL
ACT ACCORDING TO ÂŞIK FEVZİ EFENDİ OF KASTAMONU:
FIRST PART (Respectively)
Pişrev: (Pişrev by Çukacıoğlu Ali Paşa) Begins with makam Karciğar and roams the
melodies in makam Hicaz during meyâne (high-pitched section)
Taksim: Lead-in to Fasıl (Musical Act) (done by Head of Âşıks) is performed in mixture of
makams Hüseynî, Hicaz, Sabâ, Evç, Rast or Kürdî-Hüseynî; cadence (karar) and miyân is
performed without digression from makams’ original note scale.
Gazel: (performed by Head of Âşıks) Lead-in with chants such as “Ya Dost” or “Ya Hû” Beyti Müfred (Single Verse): (performed by Head of Âşıks)
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Divan: Every âşık performs plays with instrument and sings.
Âşıklar Atışması (Sing-off of Âşıks): (performed by Head of Âşıks), Taşlama (Satire): (Leadin to Sing-off) speaking in satirical manner; satire by other Âşıks: (Reciprocative in style of
Q&A)
Yanık Kerem: It is performed with syllabic meter and national poems in makam
Karciğar. Garip: Performed in makam Hicaz.
INTERMISSION: Lasts about an hour on account of night (isha) prayer.
SECOND PART:
Taksim + Gazel: (performed by Head of Âşıks) in makam Sabâ.
Kalenderi: (performed by Head of Âşıks) in makam Sabâ
Semai: (performed by Head of Âşıks) in makam Evç or İsfehân in 6 parts (müseddes) or 5
parts (muhammes)
Destan: (performed by Head of Âşıks) epics about war and moral values and in humorous
manner. Examples of famous epics: Kerbelâ Epic by Nevâî, İbrahim Epic by Perverî.
THE END OF SECOND PART (with one, two, three âşıks):
Bülbül Koşması: (in makam Daği) and/or in makam Müstezâd (Acemaşiran) and/or Dü-beyt
and/or Kalenderî of Püskük or Perçem and/or Kalenderi (by Âşık Emrah of Erzurum) and/or
Makam Tâhir Zühre and/or Köroğlu and/or Genç Osman and/or Sivastapol and/or Yemen Epic
and/or Mısır Epic.
THIRD PART: Muammâ (Riddle)(Şenel, 2007, vol. I, p. 27)
We know that these semâî coffeehouses were located in many cities especially in the
19th century. One of the most important functions of these establishments was to provide
opportunity for âşıks to be famous throughout the empire once they would become popular via
these coffeehouses which we know for a fact that there were âşıks who made so good names
for themselves that they had gotten to serve in the court. The ensemble consisted of these
minstrels had served in the court under the title of “Courtier Minstrels (Şâiran-ı Hâssa)” about
which we would like to inform you now:
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About the Staff of Courtier Minstrels
There is a great deal of data in many studies regarding the fact that some âşıks had
been hired to perform in Ottoman court during the reign of Sultan Mahmud II and had been
abolished after the demise of Sultan Abdülaziz. Here are some examples of those datas:
M. Fuad Köprülü states that there were about 20 to 30 minstrels that were paid by the
court during the reigns of Sultan Mahmud II, Sultan Abdülmecid and Sultan Abdülaziz and
they would perform musical acts for the Sultan. (Köprülü M. F., 1964, p. 526)
Emre Artun notes that minstrels had been hired to perform in Ottoman court during
the reign of Sultan Mahmud II and they had had an organized structure until the end of Sultan
Abdülaziz’s reign. Artun points out that interest shown for the minstrels in city circles had
diminished after the end of Sultan Abdülaziz’s reign. (Artun, 2001, p. 42-43)
Saadettin Nüzhet Ergun, in his book Beşiktaşlı Gedâyî, notes that Gedâyî who was
one of the most prominent minstrel in 19th century had conducted the âşık musical acts before
Sultan (Ergun, Undated, p. IX). Yahya Muhtar Dağlı, another author who wrote about Gedâyî,
states that âşık musical acts had been performed in the court and Gedâyî was the one who had
conducted these performances throughout the reign of Sultan Abdülaziz. (Dağlı M. Y., 1943,
p. 15)
References stated so far aims to inform the reader that there are tenured minstrels in
court between the reigns of Sultan Mahmûd II and Sultan Abdülhamid II. However, there is
no exact information as to whether or not this ensemble consisting of minstrels had proper
organizational structure, official title or their number of staff. There is no doubt that archive
documents are the most accurate information source. Now we would like to inform you about
the institutional structure of Courtier Minstrels (Şairan-ı Hassa) using documents at hand and
other sources.
The Organizational Structure of Courtier Minstrels:
We see that term “Şâiran-ı Hâssa (Courtier Minstrels)” meaning poets who were at
Sultan’s service is the correspondent word for minstrel ensemble in the court in many archive
documents. But we have to specify that this term is generally used in the periods of Sultan
Abdülmecid and Sultan Abdülaziz. The term “Şâiran-ı Hâssa” is used for minstrel ensemble
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in almost all the documents in especially Sultan Abdülaziz period. We also see that the term
“Mabeyn-Poets” was used as well to describe minstrel ensemble.
Many sources tell us that minstrels had first been hired by Sultan Mahmûd II which is
also confirmed by some of the documents that we have. Some of the names of musicians who
were hired by the court are seen in records during the last days of Sultan Mahmud II's reign.
Here are some of the names:
Haşimî
Rıfkî
Ferâhî
Küşâdi
Selimî
Kalbî
(BOA, M-ad, 8176, vrk. 14.)
We come across additional data on the employment of minstrels by the court during
the period of Sultan Mahmûd II in other documents of following years. In a payroll table for
the period of Sultan Abdülaziz, we see that Ferâhî whose name is written in the table above
had received 200 kuruş monthly salary from Mûsikâ-yı Hümâyûn and additional 100 kuruş
from Sultan Mahmûd II himself.( BOA, MB, 113/ 43.)
As it is understood from the data above, minstrels had served in the court during the
reign of Sultan Mahmûd II and his two succeeding sons. And we learn from archive documents
that minstrels were led by a head-poet (ser-şair) who was responsible for hiring, education and
performance of the musician staff just like in any other ensembles that had functioned under
Mûsikâ-yı Hümâyûn.
We stumble upon the names of two head-poets in the documents, first of which is Poet
Selim and the second of which is Gedâyî who was the head-poet throughout the reign of Sultan
Abdülaziz. We have discovered the fact that Poet Selim was the head-poet from the salary
records of the years 1278-1279 (1861-1863). (BOA, HH.MH, 881/6.) On the other hand,
Gedâyî are mentioned as the head-poet in many sources. In the following paragraphs you will
see that a person named Ahmet bin Mehmet (meaning Ahmed who is the son of Mehmed) was
the head-poet who could most probably be Gedâyî himself according to the archive documents
noting that Gedâyî’s given name was Ahmed and his father’s name was Mehmed. (BOA, MB,
153/ 121.)
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It is emphasized in numerous sources that there were 20 to 30 Courtier Minstrels
whereas in our sources, the number is 5 or 6. Now let us focus on the number of Courtier
Minstrels according to the documents that we have:
We see that staff of Courtier Minstrels had consisted of 6 minstrels on the document
showing the member list of Poets during the reign of Mahmûd II or soon after it. We do not
have an overall salary records for the period of Sultan Abdülmecid, but we do have a few
documents on some of the members in our archives which will be presented to you in our
section dedicated to the ensemble members. One particular document in the records of Sultan’s
Treasury, folder classification dated 1265 Teşrinisânî (November-December 1849) helps us to
have an idea regarding the number of Courtier Minstrels in which it notes that the members of
Mâbeyn Poets were paid 430 kuruş monthly salary. (BOA, HH.d, 932.)
We have some documents showing the number of Courtier Minstrels during the reign
of Sultan Abdülaziz some of which you can find below:
Members of Courtier Minstrels in 1278 and 1279 (1861- 1863):
Head-poet Selim Ağa
Âşık Mehmed
İsmail Ağa
Aşık Hasan (BOA, MB, 133/ 73.)
Ferâhî
Members of Courtier Minstrels between 1284 and 1286 (1868/1871):
Şâir Selimî Baba
Şâir Adnî Efendi
Şâir İsmail
Şâir Hasbî
Şâir Fehmî Efendi
Şâir Gedâyî
Şâir Gülşenî 6 (BOA, HH.d,
6
These names are taken from salary book dated
1284-1286
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Members of Courtier Minstrels in 1287 (1871/1872)
Ser- Şâir Selimî Efendi
Şâir Adnî Efendi
Şâir
Fehmî Efendi
Şâir Gedâyî Efendi.7 (BOA. HH.d, 18924.)
Hasbî
Members of Courtier Minstrels in 1290 (1874/1875):
Şâir Selimî
Şâir Adnî
Şâir Gedâyî
Şâir Hasbî
Şâir Fehmî8 (BOA, HH. MH,
As is understood from the tables above, the number of Poets had never been 20 or 30.
Guest âşıks were at times invited for the âşık acts in which case the said numbers could be
reached but evidence at hand suggests that number had gone up to no more than seven.
As we have mentioned therein before, we do not have definitive data on the character
of the performances, but we are able to say that the performance style of âşık music of the
period had existed in the court as well and despite a few minor differences in reference to the
space in which the performance occurred, it had been done mainly in the manner we have
mentioned earlier in the study.
Members of Courtier Minstrels and Some Documents We Discovered In Ottoman
Archives:
We have some documents on members of the Courtier Minstrels. Lists given above in
this study do not contain some of the names mentioned in some of these documents. However,
we realize that these names had served in Courtier Minstrels from the documents drawn up in
their names.
7
These names are taken from salary list dated 1287
8
These names are taken from salary list dated 1290.
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Courtier Minstrels
On a document from Sultan Abdülmecid period, it reads that the salary that had
become vacant by the death of Sâzendegân-ı Hâssa poet Rıfkı Ağa will be assigned to another
member of Courtier Minstrels Adnî Ağa (BOA, HH.d, 653.) who is mentioned in the
documents from the period of Sultan Abdülaziz. There is a petition written by Adnî regarding
his salary in the documents from folder classification of Accounting of Sultan’s Treasury.
Since the lettering on this document had been done in a very poor manner it is obvious that it
had not been penned by a clerk (kâtip), there is a strong possibility that the document had been
written by non-other than Adnî himself (BOA, HH.MH, 767/39.)
On another document dated 1283 (1866-1867), it states that the 100 kuruş salary paid
to Ali Ağa from the zecriye treasury had been assigned to Adnî after poet Ali Ağa’s death.
(BOA, HH. MH, 71/77. )
Saadettin Nüzhet Ergun in his work titled Beşiktaşlı Gedâyi shows us that Adnî and
Gedâyî are contemporaries. (Ergun, Undated, p. IX)
We see that in the article titled “Gedâyî” by Ahmet Şükrü Esen that names of Adnî
and many minstrels are mentioned in the epic (destan) written by Gedâyî when he was alive.
Adnî is mentioned as is below:
Nimeti, Şefkati, Sâmi, Sadâyî
Azmî, Râhi, Vehbî, Kâmil, Fedâyi
Adnî, Fehmî, Sabri, Dercî, Gedâyî
Gibi ehl-i dilin kıymeti de var. (Koz, 2009, p. 211)
It is seen that the poet Fehmî is mentioned in this epic in which it is possible that
names of many Courtier Minstrels would be found. But because the poets are mentioned by
their pseudonyms, there is no way for us to precisely know which people registered by their
real names in the archive documents are mentioned in this epic.
There is only one document that we could find about Poet Fehmî in which it informs
that he had been paid a monthly salary of 600 kuruş by a direct order from Sultan himself. On
the same document, it says the poet Hasbî had been paid an additional 200 kuruş salary.
Another attribute of this document dated February of 1282 (February-March 1867) is that it
shows that Courtier Minstrels had been functioning under Mûsikâ-yı Hümâyûn. Document
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reads that the commander of Mûsikâ-yı Hümâyûn Osman Paşa has to issue a certificate for
assignment of salaries paid to the poets. (BOA, HH. MH, 756/97. )
We come by the same kind of information on another document dated 1287 (18701871) in which it states that forfeiture of Poet İsmail’s salary is notified by the commander of
Mûsikâ-yı Hümâyûn İbrahim Bey. (BOA, HH. MH, 857/72.)
One other document reports a death of a member of Courtier Minstrels who had passed
away during the early years in which Sultan Abdülaziz had ruled the empire, namely, Ferâhî.
(BOA, MB.İ, 18/57.) Whose half of the salary 50 kuruş is assigned to his son Ahmet. (BOA,
A. MKT. MHM, 244/28.) Both documents agree on the year 1279 (1862-1863) as the year of
Ferâhî’s death.
We find out in a document dated 1279 (1862-1863) that an Armenian minstrel named
Kirkor had served in the court and he had been paid 200 kuruş monthly salary. (BOA, MB.İ,
18/ 31. )
Mehmet Albayrak, in his book Alevî Bektâşî Edebiyatında Ermeni Aşıkları, writes
that a Kayseri-born minstrel with a pseudonym “Lîsânî” whose real name is Garabed Kalfayan
had served in the court during the period of Sultan Mahmûd II. (Bayrak, 2005, p. 408) But this
book does not contain any information about Kirkor, though it contains some information
about a minstrel named Kirkor Serveri of Bursa. Documents presented in this study are not
adequate to verify that these two are the same person. (Bayrak, 2005, p. 484)
The poet Gedâyî whose name we have quoted a couple of times is the most mentioned
poet among the members of Courtier Minstrels in the documents.
According to the data discovered by Yahya Muhtar Dağlı, he was born in Tokat and
his father was a timber merchant. (Dağlı M. Y., 1943, p.3) Some documents assert that
Gedâyî’s real name was Ahmet. One document we have, although not completely certain,
appears to be corroborative of this information. This petition to buy coal for the chamber of
Mabeyn-i Hümâyûn Poets had been signed and sealed by a person named Head-Poet Ahmed
bin Mehmet (BOA, MB, 153/121.) which proves almost indisputably that Gedâyî’s real name
was Ahmet and his father name was Mehmet.
Gedâyî had been engaged in trade with his father until his 20s. He was taken ill when
he fell desperately in love in his early 20s as a result of which his friends had decided to send
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Courtier Minstrels
him to musician-poet gatherings that were very popular in Anatolia at the time. He had become
interested in minstrelship and learnt how to play saz in these musician-poet gatherings and the
nickname Gedâyî had been given to him by a Bektâşî Dede that he met in these gatherings.
(Dağlı M. Y., 1943, p. 8-9)
Gedâyî had continued to engage in minstrelship in Tokat until he was recruited by the
army. He was taken prisoner during one of the battles and after he was released he had settled
in İstanbul.
Gedâyî who had become one of the most prominent minstrels in a short period of time
opened up two semâî coffehouses in Beşiktaş and Üsküdar. Gedâyî, whose semâî coffeehouse
in Beşiktaş had become quite a popular destination among dignitaries of the time, attracted
significant amount of attention from the Ottoman court and was eventually employed in
Courtier Minstrels serving first as a poet and then as the head-poet all throughout the period
of Sultan Abdülaziz. After the departure of Sultan Abdülaziz and dissolution of Courtier
Minstrels, Gedâyî moved back to Beşiktaş and made a living by being a minstrel and petitionwriter until his death in 1317 (1899-1900).
Saadettin Nüzhet Ergun points out that Gedâyî who was a well-read poet had written
many forms of literature such as koşma, divan, semâî, yedekli semâî, gazel, mâni. Ergun also
states that Gedâyî had dealt with sufistic issues and since he was devoted to Ehl-i Beyt (The
family of Prophet Muhammed) he had written 3 elegies (mersiye) for Hz. Hüseyin, the
grandson of Prophet Muhammed (SAV) who along with his baby brother Hz. Hasan was
brutally murdered in Karbala by the army of Yezid I the Khalif of Omayyad on October 10th
680. (Ergun, Undated, p. XII-XIII)
And what is more is that Ergun claims many of Gedâyî’s poems must have been
composed but notes that he has seen any. Ergun says his gazel that starts with the verse “Esme
ey bâd-ı sabâ bir daha cânan ile” is very famous and the only Gedâyî poem that we were able
to confirm to have been composed is the one that starts with the verse “Gönlüm seni sever
oldu” by İsmail Demirkıran.
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CONCLUSION
This study aims to display the existence of an ensemble that is composed of minstrels,
namely “Courtier Minstrels”, in Ottoman court during the periods of Sultan Mahmûd II, Sultan
Abdülmecid and Sultan Abdülaziz for the better part of 19th century and this study also aims
to document that Âşık music that is one of the most important branches of folk music had been
performed in Ottoman court in 19th century.
One other aspect of our study is the information given about organizational structure
and staff of Courtier Minstrels in different periods supported by archive documents. And as a
result of the archive search, we have included other documents about the members of the
ensemble which makes this study a source of reference for future researches on Courtier
Minstrels and its members.
As a result of the literature search, we have failed to attain concrete data about
performance style of Courtier Minstrels in court which we have attempted to compensate by
giving information on performance style of Courtier Minstrels in urban İstanbul of the time.
Lastly, we would like to emphasize the need for the detailed researches regarding the
performance style in court.
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Archive Sources:
Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi. İE.SM, 13/1332.
Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi. M. ad, 8176, vrk. 14.
Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi. MB. 113/ 43.
Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi. HH. MH, 881/ 6.
Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi. HH.d, 10141.
Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi. HH.d , 932.
Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi. HH.d, 653.
Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi. HH. MH, 767/ 39.
99
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Rast Müzikoloji Dergisi Cilt III, Sayı 1 (2015), s.80-100
Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi. HH. MH, 71/ 77.
Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi. MB. İ, 18/ 57 .
Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi. MB. İ, 18/ 131.
Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi. HH.d, 12445.
Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi. HH.d , 18924.
Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi . HH.d, 84.
Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi . HH. MH, 857/72.
Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi . MB, 1537 121.
Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşvi . HH. MH, 756/ 97 .
Başbakanlık Osmanlı Aşivi. H.MH, 969/104.
100